quite otherwise. Their account agrees with that of Moses. The Heliopolitans were always esteemed to be the wisest and most learned of all the Egyptians; and if Moses' authority, or the faithfulness of his narration could be questioned, this agreement of the Heliopolitans with him, would be of far more weight with all reasonable enquirers to confirm his account, than what is suggested from the Memphites can be of to impair its credit.

We have brought the Israelites out of Egypt, over the Red sea into the wilderness, the period which I designed for this volume. The reader must observe from the whole of it, that from the creation to this time, God had been pleased in sundry manners to reveal himself to mankind, in order to plant his true religion in the world; and yet, notwithstanding all that had been done, this religion at this time had well nigh perished from off the face of the earth. All nations under heaven, of eminence or figure, were lost to all sense of the true God, and were far gone into the errors of idolatry. The Apostle seems to hint, that the defection was caused by their not liking to retain GoD

Moses has not expressly mentioned; but perhaps it may be conjectured from Psalm 1xxvii. 16-20, that there were lightnings contributing to the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red sea, and very probably there were anciently many true relations of this fact, besides that of Moses, from some of which the Memphites might deduce their Rarration.

a Herodotus lib. 2, c. 3.

f

in their knowledge. But why should men not like to retain the knowledge of God? I can think of no sufficient answer to this question, suitable to the circumstances of these ages, unless I may offer what follows: GOD had given exceeding great promises to Abraham and his posterity; that he would make of him a great nation; make his name great, and that in him, or in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed; that he would give him northward and southward, eastward and westward all the land, which he then saw in the length and in the breadth of it, from the river Euphrates unto the river of Egypt; that he would make him a father of many nations, that he would raise nations from him, and that kings should come out of him." GoD protected him, wherever he lived, in so signal a manner, that whenever he was in danger of suffering injury, his adversaries were prevented from hurting him. His son Ishmael was to be made a nation, because he was his seed; twelve princes were to descend from him,' and the seed of Abraham was to possess the gate of his enemies." Most of these promises were repeated to Isaac," and afterwards to Jacob; and the remarkable favours designed for this family, were not bestowed upon them

k

nay,

in private, so as to be little known to the world; but when they were but a few, even a few, and strangers in the land where they sojourned, they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people, and God suffered no man to do them wrong, but reproved even kings for their sakes. The name of Abraham was eminently famous in most nations of the then inhabited world; and I cannot but think it probable, that the kings of many countries might greatly mistake the design of GoD toward him and his descendants, as the Jews themselves afterwards did, when they came to have a nearer expectation of their Messiah, and imagined that he was to be a mighty temporal prince to subdue all their enemies. In this manner the early kings might misinterpret the promises to Abraham, and think that in time his descendants were to cover the face of the earth, and to be the governors of all nations. I cannot say whether the Hittites might not in some measure be of this opinion, when they styled Abraham (Nesi Elohim), Baoikeus παρα 988 say the the LXX, i. e. a prince from or appointed by GoD; and perhaps Abimelech might apprehend that Abraham's posterity would in time become the possessors of his country; and being willing to put off the evil for at least three generations, he made a league with him, and obtained a promise, that he would not afflict his people, during his time, nor in the days of his son, or his son's son. Thus the promises, and

P Psalm cv. 12, 13, 14.
Gen. xxi. 23.

↑ Gen. xxiii. 6.

the prophesies to Abraham and his children, might be thought to run contrary to the views and interests of the kings and heads of nations; and they might there. fore think it good policy to divert their people from attending too much to them. And for this end, they being in their kingdoms the chief directors in religion,

they might, upon the foundation of literatu on,

and

human science, form such schemes of augury, astro logy, vaticination, omens, prodigies and enchantments, as the magicians of Egypt became famous for, in order to make religion more subservient to their interests; and in these they proceeded from one step to another, in what they undoubtedly thought to be the result of rational enquiry; until in Moses' time the rulers of the Egyptian nation, who were then the most learned body in the world, beguiled by the deceit of vain philosophy, and too politically engaged to attend duly to any arguments which might convince them of their errors, were arrived at so intrepid an infidelity, that the greatest miracles had no effect upon them. I am sensible that these points have been set in a different light by some writers; but perhaps there may be reason to re-examine them. The Pagan divinations, 'arts of prophesy, and all their sorceries and enchantments, as well as their idolatry and worship of false gods were founded, not upon superstition, but upon learning and philosophical study; not upon too great a belief of and adherence to revelation, but upon a pretended knowledge of the powers of nature. Their great and learned men erred in these points, not for want of free-thinking, such as they called it; but their opi

nions upon these subjects were in direct opposition to the true revelations which had been made to the world, and might be called the deism of these ages; for such certainly was the religion of the governing and learned part of the heathen world in these times. The unlearned populace indeed in all kingdoms adhered, as they thought, to revelation; but they were imposed upon, and received the political institutions of their rulers, invented by the assistance of art and learning, instead of the dictates of true revelation. In this manner I could account for the beginning of the heathen idolatries in many nations. They took their first rise from the governors of kingdoms having too great a dependance upon human learning; and entertaining a conceit, that what they thought to be the religion which nature dictated, would free them from some imaginary subjections, which they apprehended revealed religion was calculated to bring them under. Length of time, advance of science falsely so called, and political views, had carried on these errors to a great height, when GoD was pleased in a most miraculous manner to deliver his people from the Egyptian bondage; to re-establish true religion among them, and to put the priesthood into different hands, from those who had hitherto been appointed to exercise the offices of it. But the pursuing these subjects, must belong to the subsequent parts of this undertaking.

END OF VOL. II.